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Topic: APA recipe feedback (Read 1123 times)

I need to brew and use up ingredients I bought last fall. Trouble is what I have for base grains isn't what I'd typically use for an APA, which is what I want to brew.

Without getting into too much detail, my APA is going to have the following typical specs:

Mid 1.050's ish OG

Around 40 IBU from Apollo for bittering at 60

Cascade and Amarillo at 10 and flameout for flavor and aroma

SanDiego Super yeast from WLP

My base grains are a blend of Weyerman Pale malt, Weyerman Pils, some 40l and maybe some Munich or Melanoidin for a little malty action. This is what I have on hand as well as some other grains but not in significant quantity.

So far my thoughts are to use 6lbs of the Pale ( all I have ) and around 4lbs of the Pils ( I have a 10lb bag ) with a half pound each of 40L and Munich for a little color and flavor.

What am I going for?A crisp and refreshing APA I can session with plenty of citrus and grapefruit flavor.

My other idea was to flip the Pils and Pale around, go 6lbs Pils and 4lbs Pale, ditch the Munich and go for a lighter colored and flavored result.

I don't think it matters much on the pils/pale. I would lean towards the pale myself

If you want lighter thought I would ditch the crystal and up the munich. I find it gives me maltiness without the sweetness of crystal. Mixed with pale it sort of hints at MO or similar british base grain.

Don't overlook the Apollo for late & dry hop additions. It has become a favorite of mine and has some really nice citrus character with just a touch of dankness to round it out. Otherwise, your original plan is fine, as is all of the other suggestions.

I think the keys for crisp and dry are to make sure the yeast ferments completely (pitch enough yeast & bump fermentation temps at the end); keep your crystal malt to the 10% range (or less); and get your SO4 into the 200-300ppm range.

Thanks guys - appreciate the feedback!Honestly can't remember the last beer I brewed with no crystal in it but I brew mostly IPA and a sort of standardized recipe protocol I guess. Looking to branch out this year a bit and get into more sessionable styles.

I have all sorts of options for dry hop including Moteka, Amarillo, Citra, and probably others. My freezer is a disorganized mess of bags of hops and I need to go through it and inventory.

For water I build my own from distilled and use an on-line tool, weigh out my salts with a scale etc.The chosen profile for this water was high in SO4 - light colored and slightly bitter style.

OK this sounds familiar now. It's been so long!I don't want to get too far off topic but...

Have had the discussion with my brewing friends about the whole idea of session IPA so I'm with you guys now.I think I'm so used to drinking cans of it from Founders that I've sort of accepted the term even though when I first heard it I thought it was a bit silly too. APA with a BU/GU ratio close 1 to 1 and a name that's a marketing gimmick in a market where anything "IPA" is immensely popular even with people who don't really know beer, but think they do. The term American Pale Ale is a marketing dud in comparison. This isn't just a hopped up pale ale, it's session IPA!

I will say one positive aspect possibly might be the more widespread distribution of the term "session" for beer style to the general public. I have met a number of people who like craft beer and don't have any idea what that means. First time I saw it in print was when I was in Hood River and had some Full Sail Session lager many years ago. It was a new beer at the time and I thought it was in response to the resurgence of popularity of PBR but it probably was not.

Brewing Saturday and lots of cleaning and prep to do. First brew session of the year for me and all my gear is a mess. I even lost a carboy over the winter because I left it in the garage full of PBW and it froze solid when temps dropped below zero up here.

And 12hrs later not much going on, but at 18hrs it's taking off and all is good.The SanDiego yeast is weird. I have used it before and it's fine. I like it but it behaves so differently than S05 which is almost all I have used in the past. I am trying to put some variety in my beers using different WLP liquid yeasts from my LHBS. Dry is convenient but I'm getting a bit burned out on S05 and need to do some exploring.

I plan to let it ride for around 10 days and keep an eye on the airlock before I cold crash and keg. It's fermenting at 68 degrees in my fermentation fridge using a Johnson controller.

I am trying to put some variety in my beers using different WLP liquid yeasts from my LHBS. Dry is convenient but I'm getting a bit burned out on S05 and need to do some exploring.

might want to make a starter next time with that vial of Super, too - your gravity is high enough to warrant it.

You are correct. I can't argue with you there.

I have two stir plates, a 5l flask and a 2L flask, DME and everything required. I just didn't feel like bothering on Thursday evening! Lazy brewer I am. The vial was really fresh though, and things are fermenting violently as expected. I guess if it's underpitched maybe I'll be more inspired next time.

Couple years ago I invested in all the starter stuff primarily to brew lagers because almost all my ales have been made with S05 or the BRY-97 and I have simply pitched more from a second packet using those ( rehydrated ).

Going forward with more WLP strains, more starters are in my future for sure.